Yes I tried to be clear in my peice that I welcome people of all languages and have no problem with them speaking their native tongue. The woman I encountered may have been doing her best but I do not think it unreasonable that when I am a customer, to be understood.

My Grandfather would not have taken such a job until he knew he could do it.

Likewise I would not open a store in Italy and put someone who could not speak Italian at the counter.

I apologize if I infered that I am anti language.

I am glad you contributed though.

In an era of international travel, where we cater to the world and invite them to spend their money in our countries, why should we still assume that they all can speak English.(I know that it’s different here in Europe than it is in America purely because of the geographical location).

I welcome the options on ATMs when I visit foreign countries, I’m glad that their defaults aren’t set to Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Greek etc. Hence, I’m happy to spend one second choosing the English option at home.

The world is becoming smaller, there are little things we all would have to give up in order to be a part of this international culture.

As an English speaker, I am glad that the people in the places I visit speak English and I’m happy that foreigners who come to live in English speaking countries make such a big effort to speak to me in my language (English) but I can’t take it for granted that they should.

At one time, my grandparents who spoke Portuguese had to learn from stratch to speak English. I’m happy that they others were patient with them while they learned.